Perfect fourth

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Perfect fourth

The perfect fourth is a musical interval which spans four scale

Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
degrees. It consists of the note and the note five semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the interval between a C and the next F above it is a perfect fourth; similarly the interval between a G and the next C above it, between an F and the B flat above it, and so on.

The term perfect identifies this interval as belonging to the group of perfect intervals, so called because of their extremely simple pitch

Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
relationships resulting in a high degree of consonance

Consonance and dissonance

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The perfect fourth is a musical interval which spans four scale

Diatonic scale

Pitch (music)

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, Chord , or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance ? considered unstable . The strictest definition of consonance may be only those sounds which are pleasant, while the most general definition includes any sounds which are used freely....
. "Perfect" distinguishes the perfect fourth from the augmented fourth, which is one chromatic semitone larger.

The perfect fourth is occasionally called the diatessaron. It is abbreviated P4. The perfect fourth's inversion

Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
is the perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

The perfect fifth is the musical interval between a note and the note seven semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the note G lies a perfect fifth above C; D is a perfect fifth above G, C is a perfect fifth above F, and so on....
.

Its most common occurrence is between the fifth

Fifth

Fifth may refer to:* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "Taking the Fifth".* One fifth, a quintile, or 20% of a certain amount...
and upper root

Root (chord)

In music the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as being built or tonality centered upon. This feeling of centeredness is aurally perceivable for those who grew up with European music, and its verbal labelling is a basic skill for the musically trained....
of all major

Major chord

In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a Root , a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major Triad ....
and minor triad

Minor chord

In music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a Root , a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor Triad ....
s and their extensions.

A perfect fourth in just intonation

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
corresponds to a pitch ratio of 4:3, or approximately 498 cent

Cent (music)

The cent is a logarithmic scale unit of measure used for musical interval . Typically cents are used to measure extremely small intervals, or to compare the sizes of comparable intervals in different tuning systems, and in fact the interval of one cent is much too small to be heard between successive notes....
s, while in equal temperament

Equal temperament

Equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of Musical tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratios....
a perfect fourth is equal to five semitone

Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
s, or 500 cents.

A helpful way to recognize a perfect fourth is to hum the starting of the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner's Lohengrin ("Treulich gefuehrt," the colloquially titled Here Comes the Bride

Bridal Chorus

The "Bridal Chorus" from the opera Lohengrin , by Germany composer Richard Wagner, is the standard march played for the bride's entrance at some formal weddings throughout the Western world....
), which is a familiar perfect fourth.

The perfect fourth is a perfect interval like the unison

UNISON

UNISON ? the Public Service Union is the second largest trade union in the United Kingdom, with over 1.3 million members.It was formed in 1993 when three previous public sector trade unions, the National Association of Local Government Officers , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service Employees merg...
, octave

Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
, and perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

Consonance

Consonance is a stylistic device, often used in poetry characterized by the repetition of two or more consonants using different vowels, for example, the "i" and "a" followed by the "tter" sound in "pitter patter." It repeats the consonant sounds but not vowel sounds....
. In common practice

Common practice period

The common practice period, in the history of European art music , spanning the Baroque Music, Classical music era, and Romantic Music periods, lasted from about 1600 until about 1900....
harmony, however, it is considered a stylistic dissonance in certain contexts, namely in two-voice textures and whenever it appears above the bass. If the bass note also happens to be the chord's root, the interval's upper note almost always temporarily displaces the third

Third

Third may refer to:*3 , such as the 3rd of something*Fraction , such as 1/3*The Third *Third World, economically underdeveloped nations*Third-class degree, type of British undergraduate degree classification...
of any chord, and is then called a suspended fourth
Suspended chord

A suspended chord is a chord in which the third is replaced or accompanied by either a perfect fourth or a major second , although the fourth is far more common....
.

Conventionally, the strings of a double bass

Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
and a bass guitar

Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
are tuned by intervals of perfect fourths, as well as all but one of the strings of a guitar. It is also a very common musical interval to which tom-tom drum

Tom-tom drum

A tom-tom is a cylindrical drum with no snare drum.The tom-tom originates from Native American or Asian cultures. The tom-tom drum is also a traditional means of communication....
s are tuned.

Perfect fourth

See also